Attorney General Reyes, Local Leaders Meet With National Security Advisory Robert O’Brien

October 6, 2020

Today, Attorney General Sean D. Reyes, local leaders, and human trafficking experts joined with National Security Advisor, Ambassador Robert O’Brien to discuss the threat of human trafficking locally, nationally and globally.

Attorney General Reyes and partners in Utah were able to provide NSA Ambassador O’Brien with an update on Utah’s efforts in combatting human trafficking. From legislation, investigations, victim services, and support from local partners, Utah has become a leader in the fight against human trafficking.

In addition, NSA Ambassador O’Brien was able to discuss the initiatives put forth by President Trump to address and combat human trafficking in America. Working together and collaborating on such an extensive and important issue is key to effectively fighting and ending this egregious form of modern-day slavery and violation of human rights.

We are grateful for our federal, state and local partnerships, and we look forward to continuing to work together to eradicate trafficking in Utah and America.

“It was my pleasure to join Attorney General Reyes and share the work President Trump is doing to combat human trafficking. We will continue to bring the full force of the U.S. government to combat these heinous crimes,” said NSA Ambassador Robert C. O’Brien

Ambassador O’Brien and Attorney General Reyes were joined by Special Assistant to the President Deputy Director of Political Affairs for Policy and Personnel Gregory Smith, Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the NSA and National Security Council Alex Gray, Senator Wayne Harper, Doterra International Vice President of Philanthropy and Community Impact Missy Larsen, President and CEO of Malouf, Inc Sam Malouf, Founder and CEO of Operation Underground Railroad Tim Ballard, Refugee & Immigrant Center – Asian Association of Utah Trafficking in Persons Program Director Andrea Sherman, Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Jake Petersen, Attorney General’s Office Chief Civil Deputy Brian Tarbet, NAACP President Jeanetta Williams, Attorney General’s Office Investigations Section Chief Brendan Call, Attorney General’s Office Assistant Attorney General Dan Strong, and staff.

Attorney General Reyes Awarded DAR Distinguished Citizen Medal for Work on Human Trafficking

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2020

ATTORNEY GENERAL REYES AWARDED DAR DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN MEDAL FOR WORK ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING

SALT LAKE CITY – Today, Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes was pleased and honored to receive the Daughters of the American Revolution Distinguished Citizen Medal for his honor, service, courage, leadership, and patriotism to the community. The award is due to Attorney General Reyes’ work on human trafficking, and increasing awareness of the crimes associated with human trafficking around the world.

“When I think about the people you’ve chosen in the past to bestow the award upon, I’m in awe that I would be recognized in the same category as those heroes – front line first responders, firefighters, law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, military servicemen and women, veterans, and citizens who have accomplished acts of great distinction,” Attorney General Reyes said. “It’s a singular privilege to accept this award and it’s even more meaningful to get it from an organization that I admire so much. Thank you to my wife, my staff, our partners and many others for their support and countless hours and dedication in rescuing those in need.”

The DAR Distinguished Citizen Medal is presented to citizens who demonstrate exceptional service to the community. The Wasatch Range Chapter of DAR nominated Attorney General Reyes for this award to recognize his leadership in the fight against human trafficking.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 185,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world’s largest and most active service organizations. DAR members are committed to volunteer service having served more than 12.5 million hours in communities throughout the world during the past three years.

###

Watch the ceremony below:

AG Reyes Joins Relaunch of Anti-trafficking Program -OnWatch

September 18, 2020

Yesterday, Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes joined the Malouf Foundation and the Safe House Project for the relaunch of OnWatch, an anti-trafficking program that will train people on how to recognize, report and prevent human trafficking in our communities.

The human trafficking industry is estimated to be a $150 billion industry each year with an estimated hundreds of thousands of victims. Unfortunately, there has been a 40% increase in human trafficking during the COVID-19 pandemic. OnWatch was relaunched in an effort to help people better understand trafficking in America and learn how to recognize and report human trafficking.

OnWatch was first launched in 2018 and has trained tens of thousands of people on human trafficking. In a press release, Malouf Foundation Executive Director Jake Neeley said, “We’ve created an engaged community with OnWatch, and we want to keep that momentum with this new training. More people are ready to fight against trafficking, and OnWatch is the perfect place to start.”

OnWatch was created by sex trafficking survivors and features training completely online. For more information about OnWatch and to access the training, go to https://www.iamonwatch.org/.

AG Reyes Urges President Trump to Support National Child ID Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2020

ATTORNEY GENERAL REYES URGES PRESIDENT TRUMP TO SUPPORT THE NATIONAL CHILD ID PROGRAM
Personal Appeal and Letter Urges Funding for ID Act to Protect Children

SALT LAKE CITY — In a personal appeal to President Donald J. Trump, Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes is leading a coalition of state Attorneys General in asking for the administration to make funding available to support H.R. 4172, The National Child ID Act, (The National Child ID Program) in order to help both parents and law enforcement better protect children from exploitation, abduction and human trafficking.

This legislation would enable each state, through their Attorney General, to have the opportunity to request grant funding to purchase kits for their Kindergarten through 6th grade children. Each kit costs $1.76 per child, an incredibly small amount for the life of a child who has been abducted or runaway. The cost for protecting approximately 30 million K-6 students across America is just below $52 million.

“Statistics show that more than 800,000 children go missing each year including runaways and those abducted,” said Attorney General Reyes. “That is one child gone every 40 seconds. And we are seeing those statistics rise along with child sexual abuse, exploitation and human trafficking.”

Attorney General Reyes continued: “[Mr. President,] You recently met with our friend and NFL Hall of Fame Player Mike Singletary to discuss a program he and many other Collegiate and NFL Coaches champion called the National Child ID Program. We also support this effort as we fight daily to protect children in our role as state Attorneys General.”

The Child ID Kit allows parents to collect specific information by easily recording the physical characteristics, fingerprints and DNA of their child on identification cards that are then kept at home by the parent or guardian. No outside group collects, monitors or has access to the data unless parents choose to share it during an emergency. If ever needed, the Child ID Kit will give authorities vital information to assist their efforts to locate a missing child.

The National Child ID Program has asked Congress for monies to be set aside in the next stimulus package as a grant for the purchase of such kits. And while legislation is ultimately needed, it may well take months or longer until funds are available. In the meantime, COVID-19 has made children more vulnerable to be groomed and exploited by predators. The threat of our kids becoming victims is more immediate and grave than ever. Every time we receive an amber alert for a missing one-year-old, it illustrates the critical need for this program.

Utah Attorney General Reyes is joined in this appeal to the President by Attorneys General in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia.

A copy of the letter can be viewed here.

###

SECURE Strike Force Charges Convicted Sex Offender with Human Trafficking of a Child

August 11, 2020

Last week, the Utah Attorney General’s Office SECURE Strike Force charged a man from Kearns, Utah with one count of human trafficking of a child, a first-degree felony, and six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.

Following a previous investigation in 2019 involving child pornography, Craig Thomas Defa, 27, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16 or 17-year-old in November 2019. In January 2020, Defa was sentenced to 364 days in the Salt Lake County Jail, was placed on probation for 48 months, and was required to register as a sex offender.

In December 2019, the AG’s SECURE Strike Force received information that Defa may have been involved in the human trafficking of a minor. The victim told the investigators that she had met Defa when she was 14 and he was 22. After two weeks, the relationship became sexual, and after six months, the relationship became violent. Defa and the victim were in a relationship until he was arrested in June 2019 for child pornography charges.

During the relationship, Defa allegedly made pornographic videos involving the victim and sold them through social media networks. Defa allegedly told the victim she would not need to work as she could sell the pornographic videos, despite the victim never receiving any money.

The victim stated that Defa would encourage her to recruit customers through online ads and sell pornographic images and videos of herself. Investigators reviewed the images and videos taken by Defa on her phone and confirmed they were taken prior to June 2019 when the victim was a minor.

Report human trafficking tips to the Utah Human Trafficking Tip Line at 801-200-3443. Report exploitation of a minor to the Internet Crimes Against Children Tip Line at 801-281-1211.

Attorney General Reyes Partners with NBWA, Launches Campaign to Combat Human Trafficking

July 30, 2020

National Association of Attorneys General Human Trafficking Committee Co-Chair Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes, committee member Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, and the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) announced a new initiative to help end human trafficking in the United States. Working alongside the attorneys general, NBWA will offer awareness training to more than 140,000 beer distribution employees in the U.S. to help them recognize and report signs of human trafficking.

“Human trafficking is an urgent human rights issue,” said Attorney General Reyes. “Through this new partnership, beer distributors can be an extra set of eyes and ears on the ground by being knowledgeable and aware of the signs of human trafficking. I am grateful for the role beer distributors play in communities across the country and for being a part of this critical fight. Together, I know that we can end human trafficking and save lives.”

Through NBWA’s human trafficking initiative, beer distributors will provide awareness training sessions to employees to recognize possible signs of exploitation, including common red flags and behaviors associated with human trafficking. Distributors will also be equipped with contact information to alert authorities if they spot suspicious behaviors.

“America’s beer distributors are in every community across the country,” said Craig Purser, NBWA president and CEO. “These men and women not only live and serve in the communities where they work, but they visit 640,000 licensed retail locations from coast to coast. Distributors are uniquely positioned to help fight this heinous crime given their level of access in locations often unseen by the public. NBWA and our members are proud to work alongside Attorneys General Healey and Reyes to identify criminal traffickers and, ultimately, we hope to help save lives.”

Human trafficking continues to be a major issue in the United States. In fact, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually exploited before the age of 18, and human trafficking is one of the most horrific ways children are sexually exploited. Annually, The International Labour Organization found that human trafficking is a $150 billion illegal industry, and $99 billion comes specifically from sex trafficking.

“The sad truth is human trafficking is a fast-growing criminal industry, and it happens in every community across the country,” said Attorney General Healey. “Businesses can play a critical role in helping the U.S. fight and end this crime. As a member of the NAAG Human Trafficking Committee, we are always looking for new partnerships and collaborations that help us to eliminate exploitation while protecting victims and survivors. I am thrilled to see NBWA stepping up to the challenge, and I look forward to combatting human trafficking together.”

To help distributors understand human trafficking, identify the signs and respond if they suspect exploitation is taking place, NBWA partnered with Healey, Reyes and Camila Zolfaghari, executive director of Street Grace and a former human trafficking prosecutor, to produce an awareness training video.

For more information visit www.nbwa.org.

Recent News